Quiet Love
by InsertWittyUsernameHerePlease
Summary: Morinozuka Takashi, or Mori for short, had a problem. He was inexplicably, completely, head-over-heels in love with a girl. But not just any girl. No, he was in love with Fujioka Haruhi. A girl he had no way of winning over, he was doomed to a life of unrequited love... forever. Or so he thought. Rated M for later chapters. Please Review!
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's Note: **_**OMG I ship Mori and Haruhi so hard. This is rated M for later chapters, but don't be expecting smut right off the bat. Mori and Haruhi are both shy people everyone, you've got to keep them in character. There will be no sexy sexy fun time right now. But please let me know what you think. I'm definitely gonna be writing more. If you catch any editing bugs, again, please let me know. Enjoy!**

**_**Disclaimer: All characters are owned by their respective people. I own nothing but the story._  
**

Chapter 1:

Morinozuka Takashi, or Mori for short, had a problem.

He was in love with a girl. But not just any girl… it was Fujioka Haruhi, a member of the Host Club at Ouran Academy. Due to some troubling circumstances (a large amount of debt) she was forced to become a member of the club until she had the means to return to her normal lifestyle (until she paid her debt), and because of that she had to keep her actual gender a secret. With the unfortunate situation she was in, and the fact that she was a commoner, Mori had figured it would be impossible to actually fall in love with her. He was so very wrong.

He, as well as almost the entire host club, has had his heart stolen by the gentle, young girl.

She was beautiful in a subtle way. She had soft, classic features that were slightly rounded with a slim figure instead of a striking bone structure and a bombshell body. She reminded him of a delicate flower, but not a rose, something more like a lily or sakura. She was also brilliant. She was one of the highest ranking students at Ouran. Her intelligence was what made her such a good judge of character. She was very intuitive to others feelings and temperaments. Well… most of the time.

She was, unfortunately, utterly dense when it came to how men thought of her.

Which put Mori into an incredibly awful situation.

If she couldn't figure out the feelings of the most outspoken men like Tamaki and the Hitachi twins then she definitely wouldn't figure out how Mori felt about her. He was categorized as the wild type, but he didn't feel wild at all. All he felt was resignation.

She wouldn't recognize his feelings, and he was too shy to actually tell her how he felt, so he was stuck, alone, forever.

Mori was awoken from his silent pity corner by his best friend and cousin, Haninozuka Mitskuni, or Hunny. Hunny knew how Mori felt about Haruhi. The master martial artist was also the only host not enraptured by the female's charm.

"Takashi, why don't you come sit with me and the girls?" Hunny offered, hugging his pink bunny, Usa-chan, tightly to his small chest. "You've been looking out the window and sighing for two hours now."

"Sorry, Mitskuni," Mori replied with another sigh. He tore his gaze away from the spring scenery and took a quick survey of Music Room 3. It was a busy day. Each host had at least five girls surrounding him (or in Haruhi's case, her) at one time. Kaoru and Hikaru were in the middle of their forbidden love routine, while Kyoya presented the guests with new promotional items. Tamaki was in full princely mode, charming and suave. The girls surrounding him were practically drooling. And Haruhi… she was serving tea and coffee to the guests, speaking softly, intimately, with the girls and giving them her best smile.

"Takashi." Hunny commanded his attention once again. Hunny gave him a look and then smiled again brightly. "Let's go eat cake!" Hunny spun off and Mori silently followed, along the way he cut another quick glance to the object of his turmoil and caught her smiling again. She looked up and found his eyes, and he looked away.

_Coward,_ he thought to himself.

He took his place behind Hunny at the table. He stood because one: there were no more chairs at the table, it being filled with girls and his cousin, and two: he had sat for two hours straight and needed to stretch his legs.

"Mori-sempai, would you like a piece of cake?" a first year girl offered up a yellow cake with whipped cream and strawberries on top. He didn't particularly like strawberries, but took the sweet with a nod of thanks anyways.

Mori was about to begrudgingly eat the cake when a voice stopped him.

"Mori-sempai," Haruhi smiled to the girls but then turned her attention to him. She looked at the cake in his large hands, then to his face, then back to the cake. "Uhh… that cake looks really good…" she looked up expectantly at him, and he had to hold his breath. Too cute.

"Yeah, Takashi…" Hunny breathed. The blonde had crawled his way onto Mori's shoulder and was staring at the cake too. "Do you want to share, Haruhi?" The small boy asked her as if Mori wasn't the intended consumer of the sweet thing. Mori didn't really care, if it got him out of eating the strawberries he was fine. There was also the added bonus of giving Haruhi her favorite sweet. So with a small, minuscule smile, Mori handed her the light china plate. The girls at the table started to squeal and talk amongst themselves rather loudly.

"So kind!"

"So refreshing!"

"I love the Host Club!"

Hunny jumped from Mori's back and started twirling Haruhi around. "Haru-chan, Haru-chan! Will you share the cake? Will you, will you?"

"Hunny-sempai, please, I'm getting dizzy." Just as the words left her mouth, Hunny spun her around a little too fast, and she lost her footing. The plate went flying across the room like a Frisbee, landing with a deafening clatter. Haruhi was going to trip and fall. Mori moved on instinct, Hunny didn't move at all.

Mori grabbed Haruhi by the waist, pulling her up close to his chest in a fluid motion, stopping her fall. Her feet just barely grazed the floor as he held her up.

All was silent for a moment. Mori could only hear his and Haruhi's heavy breathing. She looked just as shocked as he felt. The intimate position they were in allowed Mori to feel all of her figure against his, and though they were slight, the womanly curves she possessed had Mori frozen. He couldn't let her go, he couldn't set her down and help clean up the mess on the floor. He just stood there, looking into her wide, beautiful, hazel eyes.

And then the noise started up once again. Girls and hosts flocked around Haruhi, asking if she was alright, if she wanted another piece of cake. Mori found the strength to let her go and walk to the back of the group, ever silent.

But through the crowd, he caught Haruhi's eye again, and this time she looked away, a slight blush on her face. The twins noticed this exchange apparently because they turned their attention from Haruhi to Mori. They slithered up to either side of Mori and took both of his arms. They dragged him from the crowd behind a pillar.

"Mori-sempai…" Hikaru deadpanned.

"Is there something you want to tell us?" Kaoru finished in the same tone as his brother. Their movements were identical. They both leaned forward toward Mori with their hands placed firmly on their hips.

Mori just looked at the two, not knowing what to say.

"It's obvious, isn't it?" a cool voice chirped from behind the twins. Kyoya emerged with his ever present black book in hand, pushing up his glasses.

"What is it, Kyoya?" Kaoru asked, turning slightly to the vice president of the host club.

"Yeah… tell us what you know." Hikaru demanded, turning slightly like his brother, but still keeping an eye on Mori.

"Why, Mori's in love with Haruhi, of course." Kyoya smiled at him, his glasses flashing menacingly.

"We knew it!" The twins said together, both slamming their fists into their open palms. "But, wait. Kyoya, how did you find out?" they said.

"Hunny told me."

Just then, the person in question appeared. "Sorry, Takashi…" Hunny whispered by Mori's knee. "Kyoya knew you were acting funny and he was threatening to call in a private detective. I didn't want you to have to worry about that, so I just told him… please forgive me." Hunny bowed his head slightly, his nose buried in Usa-chan's fluffy pink ears. Mori sighed. He knew Hunny was only thinking in Mori's best interests, so he placed his hand on Hunny's head. The boy looked up from under Mori's palm with hopeful eyes. Mori patted his head twice to confirm his forgiveness. Hunny smiled and his eyes twinkled.

"What's everyone doing over here?" Everyone looked around the pillar with plastered on smiles, except for Mori who kept his face blank. Haruhi stood by with a question mark written all over her face.

"Oh, nothing…" Hikaru began.

"Just chatting." Kaoru finished.

"Oh, well…" Haruhi looked toward Mori, smiling softly. "I just wanted to thank you for saving me back there, sempai. So, thanks." She smiled the cute smile and walked away, picking up a tea tray and cleaning up. Apparently club had ended for the day. The small group was stunned silent, except for Hunny who was playing with Usa-chan.

"Damn…" Hikaru whispered.

"She's just too cute." Kaoru declared.

"Indeed." Kyoya straightened his tie, and then his glasses.

"Ah." was all Mori contributed.

And that was how the day ended. Tamaki made a huge fuss over Haruhi's near fall, and wouldn't stop reverting back to his preferred corner of the music room to grow mushrooms when she shot down his questions and loud statements with collected, logical responses of her own.

Three days later, Hunny approached Mori after club activities let out.

"Takashi, let's take a vacation!" Hunny sang as they walked out of the south building. Well, Mori was walking, Hunny was riding on his back. Mori looked around his shoulder at his friend quizzically.

"Takashi! It will be good for you! You've been distracted lately." Hunny whined in his little voice.

"I'm fine." Mori promised. He was fine, honestly. He was just stuck in the middle of an unbearable unrequited love that was eating away at the very core of his soul and being, his mind being filled of images of her, and the sight of her so close every day yet so far away as she entertains guests and the rest of the host club which drove him mad with emotions. No biggy. He was fine, like he said.

"Liar, liar, pants on fire!" Hunny gripped Mori's shoulder, hard. Mori held back his wince. For such a small boy, Hunny was extremely powerful. Mori should be the one to remember that the most. "Takashi…" Hunny's voice lowered, a sure sign he was dead serious, and getting angry. A combo Mori was unused to being at the receiving end of. "We are taking a vacation, even if I have to tie you up and throw you on the plane myself." The small hand tightened further, and this time Mori couldn't hold back his wince. He gave up. The summer holiday was coming up anyways. Most likely, the two boys were going someplace anyways, so the point was moot. Mori nodded, and Hunny let his death grip on his collarbone go.

"That's great, Takashi!" Hunny clapped. "Let's go to the ocean! But don't tell anyone, I want you to just relax over summer, not be caught up in the Host Club's antics."

Mori smiled a little. Hunny was truly a dear friend. The small blonde seemed to know exactly what Mori needed without having to tell him.

The last days of school flew by and summer break began. Mori and Hunny decided to go to Kikugahama Kaisuiyokujo, Yamaguchi for break. It was fairly distant from the rest of the club. The twins were going to Fuji with their parents, Kyoya was going to America with Tamaki, and Haruhi was staying home.

Mori and Hunny checked into their suite and headed down for the five star dining room. They had an extensive desert list and within a space of two hours, Hunny had already eaten himself into a coma. Mori had never seen the blonde eat so much sugar in his life, and that was saying something. While Hunny did eat a fair amount of sweets everyday, the quantity he consumed at dinner caused the blonde to get violently sick. Mori rushed them to their room and was about to call for a doctor when Hunny stopped him.

"Takashi…" he said weakly. "I'm sorry, don't worry. It's just a little bug. Don't call a doctor…" Hunny proceeded to throw up into a basin Mori had brought for him. "But if you could, could you go down stairs and buy some medicine?" Mori nodded. If it was what Mitskuni wanted, Mori would get it, even if it killed him to not do more.

Mori took the stairs two at a time, not wanting to take the lift because it took too long. He reached the first floor in a matter of moments and headed for the small shop in the hotel lobby.

When he emerged from the shop with all the medication they offered, he looked up just in time to see Haruhi having an animated argument with the desk clerk.

Mori stepped closer to catch the end of the conversation.

"I'm telling you, I have a room here. See, this is the package I won at the market. A romantic get away for two, at the Umibe Resort and Spa in Kikugahama Kaisuiyokujo, Yamaguchi for a seven day, six night stay." She slammed the package deal on the counter. She was absolutely furious.

The clerk sniffed rudely at her. He pushed the package back over at her and point to something on the page.

"Yes, it's a romantic get away for _two_. As far as I know, you are a single party and therefore, this package is null and void. Unless you have the money to pay for a room here, leave, before I call security to escort you off the premises."

Mori didn't know why he did it. All he knew was that he was pissed for Haruhi's sake, and he had to step in.

"Haruhi, why haven't you checked in?" he asked quietly but loud enough for the man behind the desk to hear. Mori came up behind her and wrapped his hand around her shoulders while holding the plastic bag loosely at his side.

"Morinozuka-sama!" the clerk bowed formally, looking flustered by his presence.

Mori just glared at the man, hugging the confused Haruhi closer to his side. "Why is my girlfriend not checked in?" Mori blushed after using the g-word. Haruhi did too. She scratched her face and looked away, but didn't move out from under his arm.

"Oh, well… Morinozuka-sama… I thought you were already a guest here?" the clerk looked around for help, but the two other people behind the counter looked away and moved on, leaving the man stranded.

"No." Mori lied. It wasn't like the man could argue with him. His tone was cold, and he shot a glare at the squirming man like no other. Finally, the man relented, and checked them in with a shaky smile, and sincere apologies, and a free breakfast, and an offer to have a tour guide show them around Kikugahama Kaisuiyokujo, and many other useless things. Mori didn't say anything and Haruhi just stared up at him with wide, brown eyes.

Mori noticed her clothes for the first time. She looked too cute in a white dress her father no doubt forced her to wear. Her hair was brushed back with clips holding her bangs out of her face. She didn't wear any makeup, of course, so Mori got a full, unobscured view of her lovely countenance. He wanted to smile, but knew if he did, it would just make her feel awkward.

They were escorted into a suit on the third floor. It was an economy room. Small, with one bedroom, one bathroom, one balcony, one kitchen, and one living room. Mori took a look around and wasn't really impressed. The furniture wasn't very expensive, and the carpet was wool. But Haruhi… her face lit up and was dazzled. She sucked in her breath and gazed around the room in stunned silence. She stepped forward, ignoring the clerk prattling off useless facts. Mori wasn't in the mood to listen and so shooed the small man off. Mori closed the door and watched Haruhi turn about the room.

"Thank you, sempai!" She nearly shouted. She was smiling widely and he just wanted to crush her to his chest. But he didn't. She continued on. "This is too much! You didn't have to do this!" she completed that sentence by turning her back to him and walking out onto the 11x19 balcony overlooking the ocean. The sea breeze blew into his face and he stepped forward, following her. He stood behind her as she took in the fresh air and exhaled on a satisfied sigh.

"I don't know how I can repay you for this! You really helped me out back there." She looked up at him and smiled and at that moment, he would've said something quite ballsy or stupid or both, but she cut him off before he could so much as move. "Wait, Mori-sempai… is Hunny here with you?" She looked around the suit as if the small blonde was hiding behind the couch. Mori froze. Dread filled his entire body. He forgot about Hunny! How could that have happened… especially with the bag full of medicine in his hand?!

Mori didn't even explain his sudden departure, he didn't really hear her calling after him in the hallway. All he was focused on was getting back to Hunny.

He dashed up the stairs and was at their penthouse room in a matter of moments. He opened the door, rushed in, but found no sign of his cousin. His stomach dropped.

"Mitskuni!" he called out, but received no answer. He went to Hunny's room where he had left him thirty minutes ago and found the bed perfectly made, the basin cleaned out and on the bedside table, and a note on the pillow.

Mori picked up the note and saw Hunny's flowery letters littering the page with bunnies and cake drawn in the corners.

Dear Takashi,

Have fun playing with Haruhi! I hope you won't be too mad at me for setting this all up. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine for the week without you here. And don't worry about the rest of the hosts! I have them under control!

Love,

Mitskuni!

P.S. There's strawberry cake in the kitchen for Haruhi when you get the nerve to invite her up! But Usa-chan and I ate a piece…

Okay! Well, good luck!

P.P.S. Don't be a coward.

The last part is what got to Mori. Don't be a coward.

Mori eventually went back to Haruhi's room. The door was closed and he sighed and knocked softly on the wood. She immediately opened it and tilted her head far back to look him in the eye.

"Is everything alright with Hunny-sempai?" she asked while stepping back to let him into her small room. She really should be more careful. He was a guy after all. Things happened when guys and girls were alone in a room. He wasn't saying that he would try anything perverted (though he wanted to), he was just worried is all. What if she was this accepting to a bellhop or maybe the mail man? Not good. He walked in, looking down at her. She closed the door and went over to the couch sitting down at one end. He chose the other. They sat in silence before he spoke.

"Mitskuni went home." He stated with only the slightest hint of worry in his voice. Mori couldn't remember a time without Hunny by his side voluntarily.

Haruhi's eyes widened. "And you're still here?" she obviously was just as shocked as he was about the blonde's sudden departure.

Mori nodded and grimaced. "He basically ordered me to stay."

Mori rubbed his eyes, his face a blank mask.

Haruhi nodded, her face a mask as well. "Well…" she began. "You have been acting weird lately Mori-sempai. I think Hunny-sempai is only worried about you." Haruhi smiled a little, and Mori's heart skipped a beat. She'd been noticing him. "So don't feel bad about leaving him alone. He wants you to stay here and enjoy yourself, so you should do it!"

He nodded. He was too stunned to do much else, honestly.

They were quiet for a while, Mori trying to look everywhere but at her; at his fingernails, at the clock hanging on the wall, out the widow at the ocean, at a snag in the carpet next to his left foot, anywhere.

The silence was almost becoming unbearable until it was cut by a low gurgling noise.

Mori snapped his gaze to Haruhi, who sat clutching her belly and smiling sheepishly.

"I had to skip lunch today to get to the train on time." She informed him. He nodded in comprehension. They sat like that for a second before it dawned on him to invite her to dinner. He opened his mouth to speak, but was too late. Haruhi had already gotten up and grabbed her light brown bag, which she had sat down on the kitchen's granite countertop.

"Well," she said, spinning around to look at him. "Let's find a supermarket and get ingredients for dinner."

They walked down the hall to the lifts and pushed the button. As they waited patiently in silence, two girls, maybe in their twenties, walked up. They stood close to each other and giggled. They whispered but the hall was quiet and their voices carried.

"Oh, he's too cute. How tall do you think he is?"

"Never mind that, what is _she_ doing with him?"

"Maybe she's just another guest? Like, she isn't with him, they just happened to be at the lift at the same time."

"That has to be it. He is way too hot to be with a plain girl like her."

Mori was shaking from restraint. Haruhi didn't even blink in the girls' directions. She kept her eyes forward or on him, with a content turn of her lips. If she was feeling anything she kept it well hidden.

The lift doors opened, and Haruhi stepped in first. She waited for Mori to enter then pushed the ground floor button with a smile. Mori quickly turned around and spread his arms out, blocking the two chatty twits from getting into the little lift. They looked shocked for a second, maybe about to argue, but his expression must have given away his rage because they quickly took a step back.

Mori was livid. He couldn't let those girls anywhere near Haruhi.

"Uh…" the doors closed softly. "Mori-sempai…?"

Mori took up a place near the back wall of the lift behind Haruhi. He didn't say anything to her. One, he was still angry and didn't want to frighten her, two, he was embarrassed about losing his temper in front of her, and three, he really couldn't think up an explanation without giving away his feelings.

She looked like she wanted to say something. Mori held his breath in anticipation. Suddenly, he stumbled and was thrown against the far wall, against _Haruhi_, when the lift shuddered to a stop. The flood lights appeared overhead.

Great. Just great. Un-frickin'-believable. Really, with his luck, Mori couldn't expect anything else.

Mori looked down. Smushed between his very large chest and the front wall was Haruhi. Her hands splayed across the shiny, lacquered wood of the wall that broke her fall, her back pressed close to his front, her hair a bit mussed.

Haruhi's eyes were wide, staring up behind her at his face in shock. Her pink lips were parted slightly, dragging in the warm air he was breathing out. That's how close they were.

Maybe his luck was changing…

Mori froze. He was overcome with powerful feelings, feelings he wasn't sure he could hide. Control was what he needed, and he lacked any form of it when this beautiful girl was around. Mori always prided himself on his self-restraint through the years, but right now, he wasn't sure he could rely on past experience to help him. This was serious.

"M-Mori-sempai!" her voice was a bit loud in the quiet of the lift. He focused on the movement of her mouth as she spoke his name and wondered what it'd feel like with those lips against his. They looked just as soft up close as they did far away. But he wanted to make sure.

His thumb reached up and rubbed against her bottom lip. Yup. Just as supple as he suspected. She gasped out when he touched her, and she pulled away suddenly. Her face was red, and her breathing shuddering.

He moved back so she could escape his arms, and then took up a position in the corner as far away from her as possible. He feigned nonchalance, but the strained bulging of his muscles as he crossed his arms over his chest and the tight, white-knuckled grip of his fists, gave him away.

Her back was to him, but even in the dim lighting he could see her shaking.

Damn it! This is not what he wanted. He didn't want to scare her, he just wanted…

Okay, he could understand why she was frightened of him… just a little bit. Didn't fix the unexpected case of blueballs he had, but he could understand… just a bit.

Mori took a deep breath to steady himself. The lift was getting hot, uncomfortable.

Someone better be there for them soon. He needed to get out and walk, shake off the heat wracking through his body.

Why did he do that? He could only think of temporary insanity as an excuse. Now Haruhi will never speak at him again. And who could blame her? With the things he was thinking about… he would be proud if she never even looked in his direction again.

Mori was staring at his feet, contemplating the pros and cons of jumping off a rooftop when she spoke.

"I guess it would help if we pushed the emergency button." She sort of laughed to herself, reaching over and pushing the red button. Nothing happened. She pushed again, harder this time. Again nothing happened. She dropped her hand and sighed. She didn't move for a minute, then started rummaging through her purse. She opened her phone and cursed. "No signal…" She looked over at him, under her long eyelashes. Her face flushed.

"I-It's okay, Mori-sempai…" she hedged. She was nervous around him now, something she had never been before. "It's… okay."

Mori didn't believe her but nodded an ascent anyways.

Then they stood there, in a completely awkward silence.

Haruhi had eventually sat down after about an hour, and Mori soon followed suit. The lift was hot. Really hot. He was sweating profusely making dark stains appear on the front and back of his shirt, his skin clammy, and his short hair pasted to his forehead. He rested his elbows on his bent knees trying, and failing, to get comfortable. Haruhi on the other hand looked utterly content.

Her head rested against the wall, her hazel eyes were closed, a comfortable sigh slipped from her dangerous lips.

Mori wished he could be that content.

He turned away, and cursed under his breath, wiping sweat from his eyes. Haruhi's eyes flipped over and stared at him in shock. Mori forgot he didn't curse in front of ladies, or in front of anyone for that matter.

Mori didn't return her stare, just pretended like he didn't notice, eyes forward.

She cleared her throat delicately. "Are you sleepy Mori-sempai?"

What? What did fatigue have to do with anything? The question was so odd he blinked at her before quietly speaking. "No…?"

He continued to stare at her, his head slightly quirked, not giving away his feelings. She obviously became flustered by his gaze. She started scratching her cheek with her index finger, and sort of laughed to herself looking away.

"Oh…" was all she said.

Mori decided to just not ask about it. It obviously was of no significance.

They stayed like that in that manner for a while more. Mori was beginning to wonder if anyone would come for them. He was contemplating the strength he would need to pry the doors to the lift open when Haruhi sighed heavily. Mori glanced over.

"Mori-sempai, I feel like I need to apologize…" she said quietly, looking at her fingers laced together. Mori tired to school his features into a faceless mask, but he couldn't control his eyebrows lifting in surprise and his mouth parting slightly with horror. What did _she_ have to apologize for? _He_ was the one being an ass and an idiot. She was being sweet and understanding and amazing and everything she was that had made him fall for her so hard. He wanted to tell her all this but didn't because she was still speaking. "I must have been bothering you earlier when I said we should go get groceries, now we're stuck in this hot lift and I probably screwed up all your plans." She turned her big, brown eyes toward him, her chin lifting so she could see into his eyes. "I'm sorry." She was so sincere. So good. So…

Mori didn't realize he was doing it till it was too late. He took her hand that fell between them and squeezed it while he bent down to her upturned face, his lips brushing hers in a whisper of a whisper of a kiss. She gasped, her pink mouth parting putting more pressure on his lips. It was… it was… there were no words. The love he had for this tiny, little girl swelled up inside of him, warming him from the inside out, bursting forth from his heated flesh. He wanted her to know it. He wanted her to know how much he loved her. He increased the contact.

He scooted closer to her. He laced their fingers together, his large hand engulfing her fragile fingers. She didn't pull away. Her eyes were open and staring at him with an alarmed, innocent rabbit look to them. But she didn't move.

His other hand reached up and cupped her cheek. The tips of his fingers brushed her hair away. His lips had a mind of their own and found Haruhi's again, this time with a bit more pressure. The kiss was surreal and all-consuming. There was no world, no lift, no host club, no Ouran, Hunny was even at the back of his mind. Only Haruhi. Only her lips beneath his, her cheek in his palm, her fingers entwined with his. The kiss was only a minute in time, but felt like years to him. He could kiss her forever. He really could. Her mouth was ridiculously soft, like flower petals. Her scent was intoxicating. Clean, sweet, like fresh fruit. Her breathing quickened and then… she kissed him back.

Mori's heart stopped. Her response was so tentative. Just the slightest move of her lips, an increase in the pressure. It was good. More than good. He was in heaven. His hand slid down from her cheek to the nape of her neck, pulling her closer. She squeaked at the new position. Now Mori had complete access to her mouth and cheeks and nose and eyes and neck. He kissed her harder, lips more demanding. Her free hand traveled up to his chest and rested there for a moment before sliding around his shoulders. The feel of her hand on him made him jump and in turn she jumped too, but both had a silent conversation with their quick glances and panting breath that they both liked what was happening.

And it was really happening. Something Mori thought could only happen in his wildest dreams was a reality. The love of his life was kissing him, and he her.

Haruhi was almost sitting in his lap because of their new position. Not that he cared. In fact, he wanted her to touch all of him, and he wanted to touch every last glorious part of her. She befuddled him, amused him, made him think. She was dazzling and kind, and he wanted all of her.

After a moment, he began coaxing her mouth open with his tongue, running it along the seam of her delicious lips.

Her mouth parted for an instant before she gasped and moved away from him. Her cheeks were flushed with that delicate pink she had perfected. Her breathing was jagged and short. Her lips were a tiny bit swollen from his attentions and parted ever so slightly. She gazed up at him in shock with a hint of fear and even more longing. He was stuck with a different kind of thought. He was _happy_ he could make her look like that. He wanted that sort of expression on her face all the time, well… without the shock and fear. The longing. That's what he saw and he wanted even more of it.

"I love you." He declared on an exhale, his other hand coming up to her cheek. It was hot. "I've loved you since nearly the beginning. I don't know how I kept it in this long, but that's not gonna happen again. I love you. I love you so very much." By the end he couldn't look her in the eye and was resting his forehead on her delicate shoulder. His hands on her face. She didn't speak. She didn't move. All Mori heard from her was her breathing. He felt her body inhale and exhale. After a moment of agonizing silence, he couldn't take it anymore and lifted his head.

She was crying.

Big tears rolled off of her face in waves, leaving wet streaks in their wake. She didn't sniffle or whimper. Only cried.

Mori froze in horror, his eyes popped wide, his hands lifted off her face fluttering around her head like a bird.

He didn't know what to do. He'd seen girls cry before— a lot actually, fan girls tended to get a little extreme—but never girls he loved. Haruhi crying was the last thing he wanted. He never wanted to make her sad.

Haruhi's shaking hands lifted to her face and she touched the tears on her cheeks. She tried to laugh, but it was forced, while she wiped the wetness from her eyes.

"I—I don't know what's happening." She forced another laugh, tried to smile, but it didn't reach her eyes.

Mori scooted away from her as quickly as possible and turned towards the doors of the lift once again. "Sorry." He mumbled. He was crushed. She was rejecting him and he felt bad for making her cry. A lose-lose situation. His heart seized up and then felt like it was exploding from every pore in his body. A not very fun feeling. He forced himself to speak, though his throat felt tighter than a drum, a huge rock blocking his trachea. "I won't bother you again." God, was that his voice? He sounded terrible.

Mori was mortified. He was Mortified Mori. That's what his great-grandchildren will call him. Mortified Mori. He sat there trying to think about anything that wasn't his aching heart or the crying girl next to him. It was no use. He was tangled up in her web. No way was he ever going to think about anything else for the rest of his life.

"Mori-sempai!" he was shocked by her sudden shout. She flung herself into his lap and wrapped her pale arms around his neck. "I'm happy! I think that's why I'm crying. I'm just really happy!" She seemed very excited by this idea. Mori was stunned stupid. She was smiling and looking at him with those big, brown eyes and he was utterly tongue tied.

He felt like he was going to cry now. "Happy?" he muttered. And she nodded her wet face. She was flushed, crying, and smiling. The combination killed him. He couldn't stop thinking it. Beautiful. She was beautiful.

"Happy…" He couldn't wrap his mind around it. Happy. Did that mean she returned his feelings?

Her smile was infectious. He could help but smile in return, his lips parting and a laugh escaping him. He couldn't remember the last time he laughed.

She was astonished too for she looked at him like something magical happened.

"Haruhi…" he said leaning forward, wrapping his arms around her small frame. "I love you." And he sealed the declaration with a kiss to her pink lips.

He held her tight to his body, loving the way she felt against his chest. She was silent, but she didn't move away. In fact, she burrowed deeper into his embrace, her arms circling around his shoulders, her face nestled in the crook of his neck and shoulder. He felt her breath through his shirt, felt her deep inhale, then…

"I love you too… Takashi."

All was quiet—only their combined breathing and the white-noise of the florescent flood lights overhead punctuating the silence between them.

She pulled back suddenly, the monumental moment interrupted by her stuttering, frantic words.

"I—I—uh—I m-mean—I—um—j-j-just—" her face was a cherry red, her eyes shifty, not looking at him. So cute. "Mori-sempai. That's what I meant to say…"

Mori looked down at her, his face not showing any emotion.

He got up slowly from the floor, his right leg asleep, and took the two steps needed to reach the lift doors.

He then proceeded to bang his head with force against the polished metal. The sounds reverberating around the small enclosed space.

"M-Mori-sempai! What are you doing?" she shouted over the loud banging.

Mori gave up, resting his forehead against the cool metal, his eyes closed. He turned around and slid his back down until his butt hit the floor, and his knees splayed about. He ducked his head down below his shoulders, which were hunched over due to his elbows positioned on his knees.

He took several long breaths, trying to slow down his rapid heart. His head hurt.

She didn't say anything. He was pretty sure she was looking at him with concern.

Was she waiting for an answer?

He exhaled. "I… I'm trying to wake up." He said.

"Wake up?" he risked taking a peak at her and knew he shouldn't have. She was on her knees, staring at him with worry and confusion.

"Yeah…" he mumbled, ducking his face again. "This… this only happens in my dreams…" He was happy. So happy it hurt. He was filled with joy, he wasn't sure it was real. It all seemed too good. He had to wake up, before he really let himself fall off the cliff.

"Mori-sempai…" she was right there next to him. He didn't even hear her move. Her gentle, soft hand lifted and landed onto his knee. He shifted, not breaking the contact, but slowly moving so he was facing her, he body between his spread knees.

"You're awake."

His world was shuddering.

She looked up and around, her little mouth parted in astonishment. She must feel it too. No. Wait.

His world wasn't shuddering.

The lift was. The lift was moving.

He glanced down at her, and she back at him. Her face broke out into a smile that utterly melted him.

"I guess we can go get food now!" she stood up and brushed off her dress and knees.

He stood as well, doing the same to his own clothes.

"Yeah… maybe some fancy tuna."

_******Edit: Feb. 2, 2013**_

**Hiiiiii everybody. Don't flip out if you're prone to flip outs, but I recently just scrapped most of what I had for Chapter Two in this series. *ducks under bed just in case* I just wasn't happy with the writing (I mean, almost everybody who proofed it for me [all two people] didn't like it as much as the first.) So I'm starting fresh with a fresh idea for the plot thanks to the help of my best friend. So that's why it's kind of gonna be just a teensy bit late-ish. I don't know. I set a tri-weekly release for myself for this thread so it's my own standards I'm screwing up. **

**Please be patient if you're prone to impatientness when it comes to fanfic. **

**Thanks so much! Keep up the reviews. I love 'em so much! They're my _precious... hehehehehe._ **


	2. Chapter 2

_**Author's Note: **_**So I finally finished it. Here's the next chapter in Quiet Love. Hope you like it! Please review for me and let me know what you think. I would really like some feed back on this, because I went through a lot of love-hate stuff with this chapter! If you catch any editing issues, let me know too and I'll fix those as well! **

_****Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story. All characters are owned by their own respective parties. **_

Chapter 2:

The doors to the lift opened with a helpful ding. Outside there were people gathered around. The manager of the hotel was front and center expressing his deepest apologies with tears in his eyes. People were yelling, there were even some photographers unwilling to miss such a good shot of Mori.

Mori was not unused to this sort of attention from this hotel, his family has had connections here for the past couple of generations, but when a grabby reporter got into a stunned and frantic Haruhi's face, shoving a mike under her nose, Mori couldn't take it anymore.

He lifted her into one of his arms, like that day so long ago at Kyoya's waterpark, and proceeded to shove anyone out of his way mercilessly. Haruhi grabbed onto his shirt, stuttering once again.

"M-M-Mori-sempai!" she exclaimed, looking over his shoulder to see the hoard of people following after them. She turned back to his face. "I—I can walk." She tried to struggle out of his arms, but he wouldn't let her. With his free hand, he reached into his pocket and took out his phone. He dialed his driver and then hung up.

It was a total of twelve steps from the lift doors to the front entrance, and the limo was already there waiting for him.

"Hello, Mr. Morinozuka! Where to today?" his driver said enthusiastically. The limo door was already open from them.

Haruhi gasped.

Well, what did she expect? He was filthy rich, just like any other Ouran student. What made her think he didn't have a driver?

He glanced down at her while keeping his face forward, and his feet moving. _Cute._ He thought.

He slid his tall body into the limo, Haruhi situated nicely in his lap. He liked her there. She was snuggled into his chest like a little kitten. She started shifting again, and this time he let her, rather unwillingly though. She plopped into the seat next to him, close but still too far away for his liking. She blinked at the dim lighting of the interior of the limo.

It was all dark leather, dark flooring, dark finishes, and tinted windows. There was a mini bar across from Mori completely stocked with sodas, teas, water, coffees, champagnes, wines, and hard liquors, though Mori never touched anything but tea and water.

Haruhi's hands were clasped tightly in her lap. Her fingers rubbed over one another, her short hair falling into her face, shadowing her expressions. Mori couldn't help himself. He brushed her hair away and behind her ear, revealing her scarlet, blushing complexion. She snapped her head up, startled by the soft brush of his fingers.

Mori gave her a little reassuring smile. She smiled back, unclasping her hands and resting them at her side. He took the opportunity. He slid his fingers over hers and clasped them tight. She didn't pull away.

He loved her. She loved him. They were together.

Only in his dreams. This only happened in his dreams. If this wasn't reality, he didn't want to wake up, despite his attempts in the lift.

They drove in a comfortable silence, when the patrician lowered in front of them. Haruhi's hand quickly slid out of his own, and he had to physically restrain himself from launching full bodily at the driver and taking him out.

The silence became livid. Mori's quiet emotion filling the entire space.

The driver and Haruhi both noticed. She scooted a fraction of an inch away. And the driver started mumbling apologizes and kept glancing back at them in the rearview then anxiously look away.

"M—Mr. Morinozuka, where would you like to go?" the driver eventually got out.

Mori took a calming breath, and when he had his anger in hand, he murmured to Haruhi, "Fancy tuna?"

She blinked at him and then got nervous again.

"Oh no, Mori-sempai! We don't have to go get anything fancy! I mean, it would be cheaper if I just cooked. I don't want you spending too much money on me, especially if—" He cut her off with a peck to the cheek. He was starting to realize that he was a very affectionate person. Odd, since he was never that way before.

When he pulled back he whispered in her ear.

"Call me Takashi. I liked that…"

"Taka… " she seemed to comply, but shook her head. "Sempai," She stated as if declaring that calling him by his first name was not going to happen. He tried not to be hurt by that.

He sighed and looked at his driver who was watching them in great interest.

Mori nodded his head to signal the usual place, and the driver put on his blinker.

They rode in silence.

She had her hands clasped together again, and his elbow was on the window, his head resting in his palm, trying to look cool, but probably coming off as bored since she kept giving him sideways glances. He switched positions, leaning forward, his elbows on his knees, his hands dangling forward. It wasn't very comfortable. He moved again, leaning back, crossing his foot over his knee, twiddling his thumbs. While this was more comfortable and less obnoxious looking, he just didn't feel right. Something was missing.

Haruhi.

He was missing her in his arms already.

Acting on impulse, he grabbed Haruhi under the arms like a small child—which, she was… basically—and dragged her into his lap.

He situated her, not listening to her cries for release.

"Sempai!"

"Takashi," He corrected.

"Sempai, put me down!" the murderous look she had on would've made any normal man do what she said, but he wasn't any normal man. He was a man in love with her, and the life-threatening look just made her look adorable to him.

He squeezed her to his chest, inhaling the lovely scent from her hair and nuzzled her neck. She tensed up and settled down with his nose right below her ear.

"I can't relax without you in my arms," he said, his lips brushing the soft skin of her neck. She shivered, and mumbled something about being stupid, but didn't fight him anymore.

They got to the restaurant way too quickly for his taste. He almost asked his driver to go around the block so he had another moment with Haruhi compliant in his lap. It wasn't even like they were doing anything. He was just holding her, and she was letting him. That was it, but it was the greatest moment of his life so far.

He didn't even want to venture to think about what would happen if things between them… progressed. He flushed, his muscles tensing.

Yeah, better refrain from those kinds of thoughts.

A valet came up and opened their door, greeting Mori and his "date". He liked the sound of that. Date. He also liked the sound of Haruhi's breath catching and frantic corrections and the look of the deep blush on her face.

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, cuddling her into his side. She kept her arms crossed tight, refusing to meet anyone in the eye.

The maître de was an attractive woman with long dark hair wrapped in an elegant bun. She was maybe in her late twenties and she looked at Haruhi with total hatred. Mori kept his face blank, but he caught the maître de's eye and he expressed very clearly to back off.

With a tight round about, the woman took them to a small table in the middle of the room. Haruhi was about to sit when Mori stopped her and gave the maître de another look.

The woman raised her thin, groomed eyebrow. "Something a little more secluded?" She motioned around at the crowed dining area packed nearly to capacity. The restaurant catered to the very wealthy and elite in the area, and tonight was date night for all the couples in the upper class. The tables were spaced out enough so everyone lived in their own bubble for dinner, but the dull roar and clank of silverware was very distracting.

Mori nodded. "Please."

The maître de did an about face again toward the side of the restaurant, but Haruhi spoke up.

"Wait, no. This is fine!" she said this with enough gusto that some diners took an interest and started staring. The maître de was getting impatient, but put on a tight smile.

Mori watched Haruhi and she looked determined so he gave up, surrendering this battle, and pulled out her chair for her like a proper gentleman should.

Although a proper gentleman does not think about tossing a woman over his shoulder and forcibly taking her into secluded areas.

She sat down gracefully. He took the seat opposite her, and thanked the maître de for the menus, and tipped her generously, even if she was a bit rude.

Haruhi was gazing around the vast room filled with the elite sitting in expensive furnishings eating expensive meals and drinking expensive wines. It's nothing he's never seen before, but the look on Haruhi's face was one of extreme culture shock. She also looked incredibly uncomfortable.

Looking at her as he was, he realized he was an idiot. He dragged her into this place expecting the same kind of reaction he gave the place, but she wasn't used to this as he was. He should've better prepared her.

"Do you want to leave?" he asked quietly leaning over the fresh roses in the middle of the silk clothed table. Her shoulders were hunched into herself and she kept looking down. She peered beneath her wondrously thick eyelashes and looked away again, scratching her face in that habit she had.

"Um… I wouldn't quite say that…" she was interrupted from continuing by a tall, fairly attractive waiter who poured them each a glass of water in crystal wine glasses.

"Hello again, Mr. Morinozuka. Would you like your usual this evening? And may I ask where the charming, young master Haninozuka is? I don't believe I've ever seen you two apart." The waiter smiled in just a way that would ensure him a larger tip. Talk like family, act like a waiter. People like to be related too and they pay generously for it. But what Mori would pay for would be delivery.

Mori stood up quickly turned to the waiter. "Sorry, Lee, but just send—" he whispered his and Haruhi's order so Haruhi wouldn't hear his specific directions, then: "to the Umibe Resort and Spa, please. Here." He handed over several large bills to Lee the waiter and said, "A partial payment."

"Ah! Yes! Yes, sir! It shall be done! Right away!" And Lee scurried off clutching the money to his chest like it was a wounded animal.

Haruhi looked stunned, confused, and more uncomfortable. Ugh. They needed to get out of there. Soon. He reached out his hand and she took it with trembling fingers, they soon steadied. She stood up but quickly dropped his hand when she noticed they had an audience. Okay, they _really_ needed to leave. He couldn't even hold her hand in there.

He led them to the entrance, and they exited with calls of farewell and stares of astonishment. Instead of call the limo again, he grabbed her hand and pulled her across the empty street to the beach ahead. The ocean waves crashed against the sand sending mists of salt water into the air giving the night a bit of a bite along with the wind.

Haruhi shivered, wrapping her milky white arms around herself for some sort of protection against the chill outside. Mori didn't have a jacket, but he had his shirt. He untucked and unbuttoned his shirt which the Hitachian twin's parents designed, and draped the long sleeved expanse of fabric he couldn't remember the name of around her slight shoulders. Once the fabric was there, he pulled her closer into his side wrapping his long arm around her shoulders too. She started in shock then tried to pull away, saying he didn't need to give her his shirt. She looked so shy. He looked down at himself. He gave her his shirt, but he had an undershirt on, too. He wasn't even showing that much skin, just his bare arms. He looked down at her beautiful face.

"I would give you anything, Haruhi." He whispered to her, wanting to reach down and kiss her parted lips, but settling for squeezing her closer. By pulling her closer her head fell on his chest awkwardly and she shifted to get more comfortable turning her body into his. It felt amazing. Perfect. What he always wanted.

"You don't have to give me anything, Mori-sempai." She was disgruntled but didn't move away. The icy ocean water lapped at their shoes as they walked parallel to the sea. Mori paused and kicked off his flip-flops and Haruhi did the same. He picked up both their shoes with his free hand and they pressed on. The sand squished between his toes in a not too uncomfortable way. It was nice. Everything about the night was content.

There weren't a lot of people out so the couple had some measure of privacy together. They watched the moonrise in companionable silence and they made it so far down the beach they reached the hotel. Haruhi disengaged from his side and walked on ahead a little and he let her. He watched the swish of her skirt as she moved, the bounce of her lovely short hair, and he couldn't resist. He was so in love with her, so obsessed with her, he could not stop himself from reaching out, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her up to his lips for a searing kiss. Unlike in the lift, this kiss was not hesitant or gentle. He devoured her. She squeaked in shock and tried to pull away, but he just moved in closer, dropping their shoes and snaking his long, toned arm around her slender waist and reaching up to cup her chin to keep her in place. With his superior strength she really couldn't do anything but submit to his ferocious heat.

Mori watched her movements from half open lids and nearly shouted with joy as she slowly relaxed under his assault. She reached up to grab his straining shoulders while gradually closing her eyes and opening her mouth in surrender.

Oh she felt so good. Her lips so sweet. He bit her bottom lip and she jumped. Her mouth parted even more in a gasp of surprise. He used the opportunity to kiss her more deeply, all tongue and teeth and lips. He tasted nearly every inch of her mouth, sucked her tongue, nibbled her pouty bottom lip. He conquered her mouth much like how his ancestors conquered land and people, quick and forcefully.

She tried to break away. "Mori-sempai—" she gasped but he moved right back in.

"Wrong," he grunted, his hand on her chin slipping into hair, his fingers tangling in the soft locks. His he nipped her chin and she flinched in response.

"W-wrong? Mori—" she tilted her head so he couldn't get to her lips, but that just left her neck exposed and he took the opportunity to taste her there, too.

"Wrong again," he licked up the delicate column to right under her ear. There he bit gently and he knew she liked that because she tightened up then shivered, gooseflesh appearing on her skin. He did it again just because he liked her reaction.

She shuddered out a breath. Her skin was a deep red and felt hot to his touch. Her lips were puffy from his attentions. Mori was making his way back up to her mouth when she spoke.

"T-Takashi, please, stop."

Her eyes were lowered and glassy, her mouth was pouty and parted to allow more air into her heaving lungs. Now that he thought about it, he was breathing like he ran a marathon as well. At the sound of her plea, he had no choice but to back off.

He lowered his hand in her hair to her waist to clasp his other hand and hug her close. He rested his chin on top of her head and gazed off into the distance behind her, noting the bright lights of the hotel and the people he could make out milling around in the lobby.

Haruhi held onto his shoulders like she was going to fall over, her nails digging into his skin, but he didn't mind. Her forehead was pressed into his chest, so she was looking down. He felt her chest heaving to get her breathing steady. He closed his eyes and just gloried in the feeling of them together.

Her arms eventually lowered so he had to move his own to accommodate their new position. She pulled away and this time he let her.

She wouldn't look him in the eye.

"Sorry…" he mumbled, looking just behind her right ear. It seemed like she wasn't the only one who couldn't make eye contact. "That was too much."

She didn't do anything for a moment then slowly, slightly shook her head.

Her mouth opened, a vibrant red staining her cheeks anew. "N-n-no. I… I liked it…" she met his eyes in a shy glance.

He had to physically restrain himself from attacking her again. If she was this adorable, he wouldn't be able to control himself. Now that he's had a taste of what heaven was like he couldn't get enough of it.

To cover up his inner battle, he cleared his throat and started walking towards the hotel.

"We should get inside. It's getting chilly out."

She started following him but then shouted, "Oh! You're shirt!"

He turned and she held it out to him and he reluctantly put it back on and buttoned it.

They stepped into the well-lit lobby and squinted to get accustomed to the bright room. They both walked past the lifts and headed for the stairs. They got to her door and she opened it. The blast of warm air once the door swung open was filled with a plethora of scents. Inside there were carts and carts of lidded silver platters. Their dinner had apparently arrived on time. Lee stood with a bottle of sparkling water, pouring the bubbling liquid into crystal glasses. Haruhi looked up at him with a big, confused smile. He shrugged. As if on cue, her stomach growled loudly, and Mori took her hand and pulled her into the room, pulling her chair out from the table set out for them. He seated himself and Lee lifted the silver covers over the first silver platter in front of them.

Fancy tuna.

Oh, God. He couldn't eat another bite. They had a bit of everything, tuna, crab, lobster, caviar, salmon, sushi, steak, chicken, pork, salad, bread, pickled vegetables, steamed vegetables, and so much more.

Maybe he overdid it with their order. He did pretty much order everything on the menu. But he didn't know what Haruhi wanted, and he didn't want to be a jerk an order a specific meal for her—a meal she could very well not like but would eat anyways because she was a good person.

In retrospect, he had no need to fear. She, it seemed, had no preferences. She tried and loved every bit of food. She looked just a filled as he. They made a nice dent in all the deliciousness. It was lucky the portions at this restaurant were small or they'd have to throw out so much more food.

Lee came up and started clearing away their plates.

"Mr. Morinozuka?" Mori broke his gaze from a satisfied Haruhi, acknowledging the waiter. "Would you like me to box up all the left over food, sir?" Mori nearly shook his head. What would he do with leftovers he'd never eat again? It wasn't as good if it wasn't fresh, so why bother saving it? But Haruhi perked up.

"Oh, would you mind, Lee? I can make some bento from this, maybe even some pot luck!" She seemed so excited by the prospect of cooking old food over again. Mori didn't get it.

Lee laughed and smiled warmly down at Haruhi. _His _Haruhi. A bubbling anger filled his stomach, making the meal turn over in his gut.

"Aren't pot lucks for when you have a lot of people over?" Lee asked a bit too informally for Mori's liking.

God damn it, he was jealous. Of course who could blame him when his… his… (girlfriend was too weak of a term… soulmate? But soulmate sounded too cheesy…. Mmm… what were they… )

During Mori's mental exploration of their relationship, Lee was moving in on his territory, whatever that territory be named, and that couldn't happen.

Mori stood up abruptly, nearly knocking over his chair in the process, his knees hitting the table, rattling the china, and startling Haruhi and Lee.

He gave _the look_. The look that sent trained army service men running scared. Lee visibly shrunk and backed away. Though Mori said nothing and didn't so much as lift a hand to the waiter, Lee knew that he overstayed his welcome.

Mori held out a hand gesturing towards the door. Lee sat down the plate in his arms and walked briskly towards the exit, Mori hot on his heels. Lee didn't look back and would've kept walking, had Mori not stopped him. Mori, very formally, handed over several more large bills to pay for the food, services, any anything left behind, but didn't say anything. Lee accepted them quickly and dashed down the hall.

Mori shut the door quickly and quietly, locking it for good measure.

Haruhi, obviously not having noticed the exchange, was already cleaning up, foods were transferred plate to plate and she had managed to find tinfoil under a cart Lee brought up with him.

"You don't need to do that," he said coming up behind her and lifting the tin wrapped crab out of her hands.

"Yes I do," She sniffed and snatched back the crab. "The food's going to go bad if I don't." She secured the tinfoil more carefully and set it aside, working on a new dish. "I have to do it."

Mori looked at her stunned then resigned with a soft smile.

_When in Rome…_

He picked up the box of tin foil and tried cutting a piece, but it just ripped. He tried again and it got crumpled. This was going to make him mad, but he kept his features stoic, not letting on to his failure. He tried again, and the tin foil came out in an odd shape. How did she make a perfect square? He was getting ready to try again when her cool fingers brushed his.

He started, a rare occurrence, and Haruhi took the opportunity to gently take the box from his hands.

She peeled a piece of foil out of the box and cut it neatly.

"You have to be gentle Mori-sempai. If you aren't, the foil will just crumple."

She wrapped up some steamed vegetables neatly, then took his deformed creations and made use of them, putting tops on meals and such. He decided he didn't like tin foil but helped by clearing away dirty dishes and shuffling food so Haruhi could wrap it up.

They made quick work of the leftovers and they put it away in the fridge for later, even if he was skeptical of the condition old food would be in afterwards. It came to him that he never had leftovers before. He knew a lot of commoners had them, but he could happily say he had the luxury of fresh food all the time.

Haruhi yawned and stretched. He watched the hem of her skirt rise as her arms lifted above her head and he had to say, the view was… hot.

He was sure she did it in purpose.

She dropped her hands covering that precious show of leg once again—to Mori's great despair—and turned around to look at him over her slender shoulder.

"Thank you for everything sempai," she said flashing a brilliant smile.

"Anytime," he managed to get out without sounding completely stupid.

"Not anytime." His face fell from slightly bashful and happy to stony indifference in a flash to hide his hurt. She moved on like she hadn't noticed. "This was too extravagant. Next time, let me cook. I'd like to cook a meal for you." The bashful happiness was back just as quickly as it was gone. His face hurt from all the movement. Next time. There's going to be a next time!

She yawned again. How late was it? He checked his watch and nearly gasped. It was nearing midnight.

_Time to go…_ he thought. He tried not to be too sad about it.

"I should probably leave…" he began. He pointed to the door but didn't make a move for it. It was too soon. He wanted more time with her, no, he _needed_ more time with her. This day was too perfect for him. It needed to last forever.

But in every fairy tale, midnight means the end for the prince's and princess's evening of magic.

Haruhi dropped her eyes and nodded. Was she as upset about him leaving as he was? Probably not.

She shrugged and looked at him again. "Okay, sempai!" she said with perhaps too much cheer. "I'll see you around, I suppose." Her eyes dropped again and this time he knew she was forcing herself to be happy. She was upset.

He wanted to comfort her. Reassure her. Reassure himself.

He stepped over to her and wrapped her up in his strong arms. He buried his nose in her soft hair and inhaled, trying to memorize her scent for later. He'd need it.

She slowly slid her arms around his back and rested her head against his chest.

He was so much taller than her. The top of her head barely reached the middle of his ribcage. He loved it. He loved her. He loved everything about her. Her smell, her smile, her height, her heart, her brain. Everything.

Maybe she was his soulmate. That was the only word that could accurately explain what he felt and how deeply he felt it in a single word. She was his other half.

He kissed the top of her head and stayed there for a while, he didn't want to break the moment. But the time came when he had to move away and go.

Her arms dropped her to sides listlessly. Her hazel eyes were wide and expressive. She loved him back. He saw that there. She was scared, and a little sad, but there was love in her eyes. He tried to show her exactly what he was feeling too. He tried to show her all his love and his devotion and his fear and his longing. He tried to show her that he was happy. The happiest he's even been in his entire life and he was sad to see all of it come to a close.

She lifted her hand in a lackluster half-wave, her lips parted as if she wanted to say something but nothing came out. She only stood frozen just as he stood frozen, caught in his gaze just like he was caught in hers.

He couldn't take it anymore.

He turned and left her suite, his back burning with the force of her stare, his head itching to turn and get on last look at her.

He cursed himself all the way up to his suite on the top floor. There were only two suites up there. His was on the left. Upon entering the hallway though, he noticed something. His bags were there in front of the cherry wood door. Along with the cake Hunny left behind with one piece taken out of it. There was another note.

Mori instantly recognized his cousin's handwriting.

Dear Takashi,

I'm so glad you and Haruhi got to play today! Sorry, but the room was in my name and when I went home they checked me out of it! Now you get to have a slumber party with Haruhi! Isn't that great?!

And if you were thinking of getting a new room, I wouldn't advise it! I made sure the hotel will not accept either your credit cards or your money. If I find out you've been trying to get a new room, and I will find out, I will make sure the rest of your life is a living hell!

Okay, well, BYE-BYE!

Love,

Mitskuni!

P.S This is all for your own good. Look at how far you've come in just one day! Imagine what an entire week will do!

P.P.S Me and Usa-chan had another little piece of cake… maybe you should just leave it here so me and Usa-chan can have some more later…

So his cousin was orchestrating this entire thing. Great. This was embarrassing. Really, there were no words for this kind of embarrassment. Mitskuni needed to learn to stay out of his business.

A part of Mori was furious with his cousin. Another part was actually kind of happy about the whole thing. If he thought about it, from what the note suggested, the entire day was all set up by Hunny. Haruhi winning the trip, the lift suddenly shorting out, the room, all planned by the little devil. In retrospect, none of today would've happened if it wasn't for Hunny. That did not mean Mori was happy about not having a place to stay.

Given the note and Mori's bags out in the hall, Hunny was still in the building somewhere, probably spying.

Mori sighed and leaned his forehead against the door. Well, now what?

Hunny mentioned a sleepover with Haruhi…

Yeah, right. Like that was going to happen…

"Mori-sempai! What are you doing here?" Haruhi exclaimed upon opening the door of her room and finding a tired Mori carrying all of his bags under one arm and holding a half-eaten strawberry cake in the other.

Mori sighed and leaned against the door jam, closing his eyes.

"Hunny kicked me out." When he opened his eyes again, he slowly took him her appearance. She had changed out of her cute day dress into grey sweat pants pushed up to her knees and a plain white t-shirt. Her hair was back in a red head band and her face looked fresh and flushed from a good scrubbing. Her breath smelled like mint toothpaste. She was all ready for bed, it seemed. What was he doing here again? He should leave. This was a bad idea.

"What do you mean Hunny kicked you out?" she said while stepping aside to let him through.

He was half reluctant, half overjoyed at being let into her room again.

He dropped his bags and the cake by the door and leaned against the wall, slumping forward and rubbing his face.

"Hunny checked out and left me behind. I don't have anywhere else to go at this hour…" he said from behind his fingers. He didn't want to peak at her for fear she would kick him out too. "Could I… I mean… never mind. I don't know why I came here…" he tried for nonchalance but came off jerky. God, this always happened.

He straightened from the wall and dropped his hands to find Haruhi missing. He looked around into the living room and found the couch had been covered by a sheet. She was tucking in the corners and fluffing a pillow. She picked up a down blanket from the floor and laid it at the end of the couch.

"You can stay here tonight!" She said over her shoulder as she fixed the sheet. "No use in waking up the staff to figure out any other arrangements. One night won't hurt anybody." She straightened and gazed at her fine work of transforming the couch into a makeshift bed.

He was right behind her. She didn't have time to move away, he just grabbed her and hugged her tight from behind. She squeaked in surprise. He tightened his hold on her and poured all his love from his soul into hers. She clasped his hands that were linked on her stomach and squeezed to, returning the gesture.

"Well," she remarked, disengaging from his embrace. "I better let you get ready for bed, sempai—"

He cut her off with a hard press of his lips. She sagged against him and he became gentler with his ministrations.

He lifted his face from hers.

"When will you call me Takashi?" he asked, more amused than truly upset about her refusal to call him by his first name.

Her cheeks flamed a brilliant red. "I—I—I have to get to bed!"

And she was gone, the door to the bedroom shut firmly in his face.

He laughed.

She was just too cute.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Author's Note: It's finally done! Thank (insert whatever deity or lack thereof here)! Okay, so this took me a long time to write out because I wasn't sure what kind of direction I wanted to go with for this chapter (there were several directions). But I finally settled with one and here it is! **_

_**So I said this fic was rated M for later chapters and now you finally get a glimpse as to why! Mild smut in this chapter, so you've been warned. **_

_**As always let me know what you think in reviews, any constructive criticism is wanted but please be nice and do not flame. If you catch any editing bugs please also let me know! Happy reading!**_

_****Disclaimer: All characters are owned by their respective parties. I only own the story.****_

Chapter 3:

"Takashi…?"

The feel of her skin was euphoria. A drug to him.

"Taka… Mori, please…"

He couldn't stop, she was just too much for him. He half couldn't believe this was happening. Out of all the people in the world.

"Mori-sempai!"

He woke up with a start, his body shooting forward from the couch, knocking heads with Haruhi. He rubbed his smarting forehead but didn't say anything. He was still tired, but from the light in the room, he knew it was late morning. Haruhi stood in front of him wearing jean shorts and a regular, fitted white t-shirt. She looked comfortable and sweet with her hair brushed back into clips and her face clean. He looked down at himself and tried not to grimace. He wore nothing but boxers. He figured he'd be up at sunrise like usual, so Haruhi wouldn't see him in just a thin layer of silk. That obviously was not the case. She appeared to have no previous knowledge about his clothing issue for she quickly looked away from his exposed chest towards the open balcony doors.

"Sorry, Mori-sempai. The blanket covered you so I didn't know you were…" She trailed off and rubbed a spot on her cheek. He felt even worse about the situation because he was the one that hit her head. He hoped she didn't have a bruise. "I just wanted to let you know breakfast was ready," she said. She walked away from him to the kitchen where she prepared a bowl of rice and sat down at the already set table, her back facing him. He smelled eggs and fish and his stomach growled, unbelievable since only hours before he had gorged himself full. He needed to exercise. He felt lethargic and frankly gross. After breakfast, he decided. He stood up quickly, the blood rushing to his head making his ears ring and his head pound. The sun was beating down on the couch where only moments before he had been sleeping heavily. He realized it was too warm. The carpet under his toes was hot from the sun shining through the open balcony doors.

He dragged his feet over to his bag and pulled on his undershirt from last night and a pair of running shorts. He passed by the glass doors and took in the ocean and the beach and the people on the street. Maybe he'd run by the water instead of the park he usually went too. It was a nice enough day, anyways.

He fixed himself a bowl of rice and sat across from Haruhi. She did not look up from her meal. They ate like that in silence. He felt awkward but she looked the picture of contentment. She reached for some salted fish at the same time he did, and while he pulled back quickly, she wasn't even fazed and picked a piece of fish off the plate.

He needed air. This was too much for him.

He got up silently and put his bowl in the sink. He then walked over to his bag, grabbed a toothbrush and comb, and headed for the bathroom. He scrubbed his face and teeth and tried to manage his bed head. He didn't want to shower because he was just going to sweat through his cleanliness anyways, so might as well do it after. He changed shirts, pulled on some socks and his running shoes, then exited the bathroom looking around for Haruhi. She was washing out the bowls. The sound of rushing water masked his footfalls. He was right behind her when she looked up and jumped.

"Mori-sempai! You scared me!" she turned off the water and turned around to face him. He was very close to her, his entire form shadowing her in the close-quarters of the kitchen.

He reached up and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. He wanted to kiss her. He wanted to hold her and tell her how much he loved her. He didn't like the weirdness between them that still lingered from just thirty minutes before.

"Sorry," he mumbled. The 'sorry' was an all-encompassing apology for everything that happened that morning.

He didn't wait for a reply. He just reluctantly dropped his hand and headed for the door. Before he left though, he turned around to find her standing by the sink still, watching him watch her.

"Just going for a run. Be back soon."

And he left her behind.

Normally, running helped him clear his mind. Focusing on the burn in his legs and the tension in his lungs usually allowed him to escape the continuous monologue in his brain. Family obligations, school, friends, Haruhi, they all left him for an hour while he worked his body into a sweaty heap. Sometimes, that's all he ever wanted. Just to be by himself. No problems, no worries, no thinking.

But, for some reason, running wasn't doing it for him anymore.

He couldn't stop the problems from entering his head, the worries bombarding his mind, the thoughts from overtaking his every breath.

He thought he was overloaded before this. He figured that his mind couldn't get any more filled with emotions and memories and thoughts. He was wrong.

After exiting the hotel lobby, he jogged across the street to the beach. Families and friends played in the dazzling water and warm sun. Boys splashed around, girls sat under umbrellas. The sun was hot, the sky clear of any clouds. It was a gorgeous summer day. He should've felt good or at the very least not as cold. But he didn't.

He picked up the pace once his feet hit the packed, moist sand by the water's edge.

He shouldn't have left her like that. He didn't want too, but he couldn't bring himself to do and say exactly what he felt. He was too worried about scaring her, or hurting her, or overwhelming her. He barely had her now. One misstep, one wrong word, one misplaced kiss, and it would all be over. He didn't want to risk it. He had too much to lose. But if he continued on like this, leaving her behind, not talking to her, holding himself back, he would most definitely be alone. For good.

This wasn't right.

He never thought he would be in this position. He figured he would end up watching her get married to another man from a distance, watch as she smiled and whispered 'I love you' to someone that _was not him_. Yet, somehow, he managed to tell her how he felt. Tell her he loved her. And she even reciprocated his feelings! He somehow managed to get her to call him Takashi. He managed to hold her, kiss her...

Now, though, he was acting like a complete jerk. And all from waking up shirtless. Jesus, this was too much.

There were so many mines he could trip that would explode this whole week into oblivion. This was too much pressure. Too much emotion. His chest was shrinking, his heart started pounding harder than it already was, his stomach clenched up. There was only one solution: he needed to run more.

He picked up his pace. Sweat was dripping from his forehead and hair and into his eyes. He wiped his face with his shirt which was also soaked with sweat.

He was too self-conscious around her. She made him feel weird, and small, and nervous, and excited, and brutish, and shy.

He almost wished he could go back to being stuck in the lift. At least there they talked about what was between them. Sort of. Mostly he felt comfortable around her for the first time in a long while. More than that, he felt like a man and she his woman. He felt like they had a future together, as sappy as that sounds. But now it felt like things would never be good between them again.

All from waking up without a shirt.

Thinking about it now, he wanted to kill Mitskuni. None of this would have happened if his cousin had just minded his own business.

Mori just needed to go into oblivion. He pushed his body to its limits and it still wasn't enough. He ran for a long time, hours maybe. He ran for so long that he was sure he was on private beach property outside of the resort town. It was time to turn around. He slowed to a jog then a walk. He already felt the pain in his legs set in. He overdid it. He turned around and tried to jog back, but after three steps he couldn't push forward. Overdid it was the understatement of the freaking year.

He had to get back though, so he forced his legs to move.

He jogged at this much slower pace finally clear headed because of the fog the pain brought on so it took a few minutes for him to realize that someone was running after him and calling his name.

"Mr. Morinozuka! Hey! Wait up!"

The person caught up to him and grabbed his shoulder. Mori started and looked down to see none other than Lee, their waiter from last night. The shorter man had on a white t-shirt, running shorts, and shoes. His hair was disheveled and his face was flushed from exercise. Mori wasn't the only one out for a bit of a run.

Lee bent over and grabbed his knees panting, sweat dripping onto the sand beneath them. "Hey…" Lee puffed. "I've been chasing after you for about half a kilometer now."

Mori didn't say anything in reply. He was surprised that he hadn't heard Lee calling after him. His head fog must've been thicker than he thought.

Lee stood up and pounded his chest trying to get his heart to beat normally. "I just saw you running and thought…" he trailed off when he looked at Mori's dark expression. His face fell. "I don't know what I thought. I—I guess I'll see you later, Mr. Morinozuka." Lee turned but didn't get very far.

Mori had to ask. It just popped into his head. "How old are you?" Mori asked very quietly, but loud enough to make Lee turn around.

"I'm twenty-three," Lee replied with a quizzical look.

Mori cracked his neck. "I should be calling you sempai then." He rotated his shoulders to stretch them out after putting his body through physical hell.

Lee looked confused. "I don't understand what you mean, Mr. Morinozuka," He said.

"Just…" Mori stopped his cool-down and looked at Lee. "Call me Mori."

Lee looked taken aback. "Oh no! I couldn't possibly address you so informally Mr. Morino-"

Mori cut him off. "Just Mori." His tone was cold and serious, more so than usual to make Lee understand that this was nonnegotiable.

It took longer to get back to the strip of beach outside the Umibe. Much longer. It was late afternoon from what he could gather from the position of the sun. Most of the beach patrons had left the heat to have late lunches or get ready for early dinners. A few sun bathers remained and a couple of fisher men were out.

Lee had kept up with him, both of them jogging in silence. Lee wasn't as in shape as Mori but his stamina was impressive. Mori stopped in front of the hotel and Lee turned around.

Mori held up his hand as a salute goodbye and was about to jog across the street to meet up with Haruhi again when Lee spoke.

"Hey, Mori!" Lee had his hands behind his head and he looked like he was debating something. Mori waited, but was getting impatient. He held back his emotions though and just blinked. Lee finally spoke, running his hand through his short hair.

"So, um… there's this party tonight… out on the roof of the Miyako a couple miles from here. I have a friend who's in the band doing the music for it and can get us in. It's supposed to be pretty amazing. Do you and Haruhi-chan want to come?" Lee seemed just as confused as Mori felt. The man quickly looked flustered then embarrassed. "I mean, only if you want. I don't want to seem too forward. I know I don't know you two very well but I just thought maybe we could get to know each other. You seem like nice people, and well, you know, I just thought…"

Mori didn't respond to Lee's babbling. Mostly because he didn't have a response ready for such a situation. He never expected, out of all the things that could happen, that have happened, that Lee would be extending an invitation of friendship. After the way Mori acted the night before he would've thought Lee would want nothing to do with him or Haruhi. Evidently he was wrong.

Mori thought it over.

It wasn't like Lee was so much older than himself or Haruhi. They could have similar interests or hobbies. Mori was never one for parties though, and he doubted Haruhi would want to go. But what if—for some odd reason— she did want to go out and have a good, shenanigan filled time with Lee? It would be an understatement to say they have been out of their comfort zones for the past two days. Maybe a party would be good for them, get them to bond a little more. Who knows? Perhaps this is what they needed… But he couldn't decide something like this on his own. He needed to consult Haruhi first.

Mori rubbed the side of his face, feeling stubble. He probably needed a shave. Girls liked him with a clean face. But it was really only one girl he really cared about looking good for.

"Let me ask Haruhi…" he finally managed to get out. Lee looked surprised at Mori's answer, like the waiter was waiting for Mori to deny him on the spot. If it wasn't for Haruhi, Mori would have.

Lee smiled widely though. "That's great! Here, let me give you my mobile number." Lee sent him his contact information. Mori didn't have his phone on him so just nodded and waved, jogging into the hotel lobby, leaving Lee behind on the warm beach, the sunset licking the horizon. He'd been gone all day. What was Haruhi up to? Did she go out to the water and swim? Sun bathe? Did she stay up in the room waiting for him? He hoped not. He never meant to be gone this long and he didn't want her pining after him. He wanted her to be happy and waiting for a jerk to come back after leaving abruptly was not the way to be happy in his opinion.

Thinking about it now was just making him furious with himself. He took the stairs two at a time to reach her floor more quickly. He needed to plead forgiveness. He'd left too suddenly. He was gone for too long. He never called because he didn't bother to check to see if he had his mobile on him before running away from his problems like a coward.

Shit.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

He hoped she wasn't mad. He didn't think he could take that. If she was mad at him… God. He found himself running down the hallway to her room contemplating, once again, the pros and cons of jumping off a roof.

He stopped at her door, completely out of breath. He knocked, probably too aggressively.

The door flew open immediately.

Haruhi stood on the other side completely frazzled. Her hair was a mess, the ends stinking every which way. Her cheeks were blotchy and pink. Her eyes were puffy and red.

One look at him though, and she was buried in his chest, her arms wrapped around his sweaty and achy form, squeezing tight and not letting go. She released a panicked whimper and started to shake.

This was not what he was expecting.

He was stunned, but he reacted instinctively. He held her tight and nestled his face on the top of her head. He rubbed her back, waiting for her to stop quaking so badly.

Eventually she pulled away and he saw tears staining her face. He felt terrible. He caused this. He was to blame for her pain.

He reached up and wiped a tear away. This was the second time he made her cry in the past two days. He was going for a world record in the category of shitty-love-interests.

He held her face and kissed her forehead. "Sorry…" he whispered against her skin. He looked down at her and saw her expression go from relieved worry to livid fury.

She reached up and pushed him away. Her fists clenched at her sides, her arms flexing from strain.

"What do you think you were doing, not calling all day like that?!" She shouted. Oh, no. He invoked the fury. Okay. He could do this. Just take it like a man.

But it was difficult to take it like a man when she completely emasculated him in the hallway.

"You said you were going for a run! Where were you for eight hours?!" He was really gone for that long? "I was getting ready to call Hunny and the police! I've been waiting around all day, begging God to bring you home safe! AND I DON'T BEG OFTEN!"

So he had made her wait all day. Great. He was literally going to take home the boyfriend of the year trophy for this one.

He was ashamed. He was a fool. Damn it. He felt like an ass. He was an ass. This day just did not go as planned. He wanted to spend it with Haruhi as a couple. But his awkwardness just had to rear its ugly head and ruin everything.

Haruhi somehow managed to stare down at him even though she was 30 centimeters shorter than him. He had no words. Nothing he could say would make up for his inexcusable actions. He was wrong. He knew it. Haruhi obviously knew it. He just had to grovel for her forgiveness like he planned on doing all along. And he was totally fine with that. He was man enough to beg for his woman to be happy with him again. He just didn't want to do it out in the hall.

Haruhi turned around abruptly. She gave him her back and left him standing, stewing in his feelings of remorse and regret. He walked in slowly, closing the door without a click.

She was sitting at the table where they ate breakfast. The food from this morning was cleared off and was replaced with many books and notebooks.

She apparently took up studying through the course of the day.

She didn't look at him, but he could tell she was still mad by the way she scratched her pencil over the paper and kept ripping holes in it in the process. She'd curse softly under her breath every time this happened. He watched her work for a minute before kneeling by her left side.

She studiously didn't acknowledge him.

In this position, him on his knees and her perched on her throne, he felt like a poor peasant begging for scarps of affection. And he was metaphorically speaking. He wanted anything and everything she was willing to give. He just wanted to be near her always. He was so in love all he wanted was her and her happiness, even at the expense of his own self.

He let his head fall onto her leg and the pencil scratching stopped. He peaked up at her with pleading eyes. He wanted forgiveness. He wanted a lot of things actually.

She glared down at him with heated eyes and he saw all the emotions that were hidden in their hazel depths. He saw the anger—it was the most vivid— but he also saw worry and relief and sadness. It was a wild array of feelings and he wished them to be gone.

He couldn't stand to look into such eyes. He was ashamed to be the one to put them there. "Sorry…" he mumbled, burying his face in her lap. He heard her sigh heavily then he felt fingers running through his hair.

He didn't move, for fear her fingers would cease their loop around his head. Up they went through the short hair at the base of his neck, down the top of his head, and back again to the base of his neck.

It was intimate and soft and chill-inducing and utter bliss. He loved her fingers in his hair. He loved her just _touching_ him. He wasn't sure if she ever initiated contact between them…

Oh wait… she did when she threw herself into his arms just those few moments ago.

But this was different. That first time was relief induced. She probably wasn't even aware of what she was doing at the time. But this… this she did of her own accord, her own judgment. It was wonderful.

He inhaled deeply and picked up the scent of the soap she used. It smelled like mint and tea. It was lovely. He inhaled again, trying to burn the fragrance into his head so he would never forget it.

Her fingers ceased their movement and he nearly whimpered like a young child. It had felt too good. He was already addicted to the sensation. He didn't know if he could live without it again.

He lifted his head. She was looking at him with parted lips and glittering eyes.

She seemed to be struggling for words, something he knew she was not used to.

"Mori-sempai…" He didn't bother correcting her about his name. "You have to tell me when something is bothering you. You can't just stoically hide it away and hope no one notices. That's not how relationships work. You—You have to speak your mind… sometimes." She was nervous if the look on her face was any indication.

Did she think he would run away again?

No. He vowed to himself that he would not do that to her again. He needed to talk. She wanted him to talk. So… he would talk.

"I… I like it when you call me Takashi…" he said. He sat up and took her hand into both of his. She seemed taken aback by his outburst. He continued on. "I like holding your hand and I like you sitting in my lap. I liked waking up to you this morning. But I didn't like you turning away from me and acting like nothing was wrong when I knew something was wrong." His fingers squeezed hers in a tight grip. He tried to get her to understand what he was saying. "If you're embarrassed by me, you have to say so too. You can't just stoically hide it away and hope no one notices. That's not how relationships work." He fed her words right back to her. Her lips parted like she wanted to speak, but he cut her off. Jeeze, this was so out of character for him. "You need to know that… that I love you… and I never intended to make you worry about me. I… I just—" God. Where did all these words come from? "I didn't feel equipped to handle the situation at the time and my first instinct was to run. Literally run. I ran for hours trying to clear my head so maybe some kind of solution would come to me, but it never did. My head was filled with thoughts of you the entire time, and with every step I made that took me farther away from you, those thoughts just got louder and louder until I realized what an ass I had been. By the time I turned around though, my body was spent and it took me twice as long to get here and grovel at your feet for forgiveness." He smiled a little. Her eyes widened at his change in expression. "So here I am, groveling. I am so sorry for leaving you alone all day without a word as to why, and I'm so sorry for making you worry. If I could, I would turn back time to make this all disappear so we could start over this day the right way."

That was probably the longest speech he ever made in his life. He never used words to express what he was feeling. He was an action kind of man. The steady and silent type. But for some reason, saying all that stuff made him feel better. It felt like a weight was lifted off of his chest. Maybe words weren't all that bad. His voice was sort of sore from all the use though…

He felt better, but Haruhi obviously didn't. She looked close to tears again. God damn it. Could he do nothing right? He thought this is what she wanted! He said the wrong thing! This was precisely why he didn't use words often. They just led to tears!

He let go of her hand and looked around for anything that would help his cause. All that was in reach was a pencil. That was not a weapon at stopping a woman's tears.

He was flustered and just a little panicked. He was about to throw himself under a bus when she giggled.

He looked at her again and she had tears in her eyes but she was laughing as well. Like in the lift. She was happy and crying at the same time.

Women really needed to refrain from doing this. It just confused men, in Mori's opinion. He stared at her, bewildered, and just let her do her happy-laughing-crying thing. What else could he do? This was not his area of expertise. Now stick him in a dangerous situation with highly trained, highly skilled hand-to-hand martial artists and he'd crush anyone in his path. But women? Particularly, the woman he happened to be in love with? Nope. Don't even go there. He was the punching dummy in this scenario, at best. The blood on the floor, at worst.

The happy-laughing-crying thing ended and she spoke.

"I don't think I've ever heard you say so much in one sitting Mor—Takashi…" She trailed off on the last bit. She blushed a vibrant pink but she did it. She called him Takashi. His heart skipped a beat and he had trouble taking air into his lungs. The syllables of his name never sounded better than when they rolled off of her tongue.

The sound of his name coming from her lips spurred him into action. He leaned up and pressed his lips into hers. It was a short kiss, but one filled with affection. A thank you kiss really. A thank you for calling him by his first name. A thank you for listening to him. He pulled away and watched her eyes flutter open, a dazed expression on her face.

He wanted to be caught like that in her gaze for an eternity, but he knew that if their stares continued on for much longer, everything would crumble and sour again just like it had in the morning. So, unwilling to let that happen, he stood up and broke the stillness. He stretched with his hands above his head and rotated his head around on his neck, hearing the cracks in his ear from his joints popping. He came to rest his hands on his hips and smiled down at her. She still looked shocked. He pretended not to notice this and turned around walking to get his stuff. He gathered his things and looked over his shoulder. She was standing now, her hand resting on the back of her chair. He face was neutral, as if she forced herself to gather her control. She smiled a little.

"May I use your shower?" he asked with as much smoothness as possible given the question he was posing. He also tried to keep his face from heating up like a fire. He definitely needed to bathe, but getting naked… in Haruhi's suite… with her just in the other room… Yeah. It was trouble keeping that blush at bay.

She smiled widely then and walked over to him. She was close. Very close. He froze up, not sure what she was doing.

"Yeah…" her voice dropped into a softness that he's never heard before. This was a joke. It was not happening. Yet, she was flush against him, her arms going around his body. Was she going to ask to join him? Oh, Christ. He hoped so… wait, scratch that. He hoped _not_. What would he do with her in a shower?

Okay. That was a stupid question. He knew exactly what would happen. He would be naked and she would be… also…

This time he had no control over the intense heat flooding his face, ears, and neck. He stood rigid, his bag in hand, her barley touching him with her arms loosely encasing his body.

"Yeah…" she repeated. "Because you stink." And with that, she sidestepped him, a book in her hand, and flopped onto the couch. He turned around and saw that behind him was a side table that was stacked with other books. Math, Physics, English. He looked back to her and saw she was reading a literature book.

She was messing with him. She knew there were books in reach and was using the situation to get him… well, hot.

He quirked his head and just watched her study. She never looked at him, but he saw her mouth turned up in the slightest of smiles which gave away her amusement at her little joke.

He wanted to laugh. He really did, but his body was burning and he couldn't force his vocal chords to work. His legs took him across the room into the bathroom of their own accord and his arm shut and locked the door firmly without his consent. Whilst on autopilot, he turned the water on and set it at a freezing temperature. He undressed methodically and stepped into the beating water.

The shock to his system cleared his head a bit, but his body was still on fire. The way she acted… her voice… her… body. It was all replaying through his mind and igniting the fire that was coursing under his skin.

He thought a lot in general. When you don't speak too much and had a close group of friends, you have plenty of time to think about things. So he would say that he was awesome at thinking. But in that moment all he wanted to do was not think. Thinking was torturing him. He couldn't stop. Stopping was impossible for him.

After running for hours he should've been exhausted. He wasn't. In Haruhi's shower, completely naked under the cold spray, he should've had a clear head. He didn't. All he was able to do was think. Think about what it would've been like if she was serious. If her mouth had formed the words 'Yeah… we can shower together…'or maybe 'Yeah… I can wash your back…'

In a logical, rational world, he knew she would _never_ say any of those things. But in his head, she wrapped her arms fully around him, pulled him close— chest to breast—and leaned up onto her tiptoes. She would extend her neck and tilt her head, and he would lean down on instinct, allowing her the opportunity to make contact. Their kiss would start off easy, but soon he would take control. He'd drop his bag and grab her by the waist and hoist her up into his arms. Her legs would wrap around his waist and they'd kiss like it was the last day on Earth. Teeth, tongue, and lips would grapple for dominance, but he would win every time. She would put up a fight though, starting the game all over again, forcing her tongue into his mouth, her fingers grabbing the hair at the base of his neck, tilting his head so she could take over his mouth. He would push back and on and on it would go.

His legs would take them to the bathroom where he would blindly reach for the shower head and turn the spray on. He would sit her on top of the sink and run his fingers through her hair. Her hands would be at the base of his shirt, lifting it up in her tiny fists. Their contact would break, but only long enough for his t-shirt to fly over his head in some unknown direction. She would lift her hands over her head now, and he would whip the white cotton fabric shielding her perfection from him off of her.

He would stop their passion for a moment to just worship the sight of her half naked body. She would be wearing a small, white bra that lifted her tiny breasts flawlessly. He wouldn't have long to look though because she would whimper hesitantly and her hands would be traveling the length of his muscled torso rapidly, like she wanted to be touching all of him at once.

He would bury his face into her neck and kiss and suck that sweet spot behind her ear, making her breathing hitch and shudder. Meanwhile, his hands would be behind her back and working the clasp of her bra open. The material would melt away and she would be glued to him, her legs wrapped around his hips still, her hands clutching his back, her nails digging in, leaving scratches. Her heart would be pounding and he would be able to feel it through his skin, beating at the same rhythm of his heart. He would feel her taut, little breasts pressing into his chest and he would go into a frenzy. He'd lift her up and set her down on the floor and his fingers would find the button on her shorts. She would be kissing his neck and chest, her hand clutching his straining shoulders.

The room would be hot from the steam from the shower and their heated breath. He would get her shorts and underwear down in one go and she would freeze up, shocked out of her passion. She would look up at him with fear and lust and love and he would kiss her worry away, slowing down for her even if all he wanted to do was proceed with vigor.

Things would progress tentatively then. She would jump at his every touch. She would squeak at every glance. He would kiss her. Slowly now, he would ease her mind and take things further when he knew she was alright. He would kiss her cheek, her neck, her shoulder. She would start breathing heavily again, stroking his arms, the working her way up to running her fingers through his short hair, yanking onto the strands when he would kiss the top of her breast.

She'd give a moan, but would try to pull away again. She would try to cover herself, but he wouldn't let her. He would take her hands and lace her fingers with his own, pinning them back onto the sink so she was completely bared to him.

Her mouth would open into a protest but he'd just cover it again, his tongue inciting supremacy. He would get her hot and compliant with strategic nibbles and strokes of his mouth and then he'd work his way down again. Her fingers would flex as if she were trying to move away with every inch he went lower and lower down her body.

He would finally make it to her cute, little breasts. He would know what Heaven looked like then. Her breasts would be utter perfection, completely enrapturing. They would be flushed a rosy pink and her nipples would be stiff and begging for attention. And he would give them their just rewards.

He'd first flick her left nipple with his tongue and enjoy Haruhi's jerk and arch forward. He'd do it again to get the same reaction just because he liked it so much. She would moan his name and her arms would be shaking, her fingers twitching under the hold of his strong hands. He'd lick the underside of her breast now, and then kiss every other inch of her chest. Her body would be convulsing now. Her knees would be wobbly, her stomach muscles contracting, and he hadn't even gotten to the good part yet.

He would let her hands go and she's collapsed into him because her body wouldn't have the strength to stand. She wouldn't even have the strength to protest as he would lick her navel, then her hip bones, before—

"Takashi?"

Mori jerked out of his fantasy with a curse. He looked down at himself and saw the remnants of an ejaculation he didn't know he had. He never even touched himself. Ashamed, he turned around into the icy spray of water to rinse himself off. He didn't even know he was aroused, let alone aroused enough to come without even one stroke.

There was a knock at the door again. "Takashi? Are you alright? You've been in there for an hour now…" It was Haruhi. She was behind that wooden door, not with him in the bathroom. They were not together. It was just a fantasy. A dream.

Like any of that could ever happen in real life.

He vaguely remembered replying something or other to appease her worry.

He actually washed himself up now. He worked quickly so he could get out of that frigid water. His teeth were chattering and his body was racked with shivers.

He dried off and a got dressed, throwing on a grey graphic t-shirt and some jeans. He tried to leave as inconspicuously as possible, padding out into the living room with only bare feet, but his cover was blown when he walked into the room and dropped his open bag with a clatter, his toiletries flying out of their nylon home. Haruhi spun around and visibly brightened upon seeing him, not registering the mess he made of his bag.

He was locked in a staring contest with none other than Lee.

"Takashi! Look who I ran into when I went into town to find something for dinner!" She gestured to Lee who was sitting at the counter with a steaming mug in one hand. The man's other hand raised in an awkward wave. Lee's brows were lifted and furrowed, and his mouth was a straight line. Lee was uncomfortable there, as he should be. What was he doing here?

Mori looked at Haruhi again and knew she invited the waiter up. He wanted to be angry at her for bringing this stranger into her room, but he knew that was stupid and overbearing. He knew he felt that way just because he was threatened by Lee. And he knew he was threatened by Lee do to the powerful urge to murder the guy by drowning him in his own tea.

Mori collected himself and gave a blank stare. He only gave a minuscule nod of acknowledgement. Lee shrank into himself and took a great interest in his cup. Haruhi either didn't see the exchange or was very good at feigning ignorance.

She walked over to him and smiled that warm smile that was part of the reason he fell in love with her. "Guess what, Takashi," she said with pent up excitement lacing her every word. "Lee invited us to a party tonight! Isn't that great?"

Mori jerked his gaze back to Lee and this time he didn't repress his anger. Lee shrank even more and leaned away, to the point where he was nearly falling out of his chair.

Haruhi's eyebrows drew together in concern. "Takashi? Something wrong?"

Everything was wrong. Lee wasn't supposed to be here. He wasn't supposed to be talking to his woman. He supposed to be inviting her _anywhere_. He wasn't supposed to be drinking tea with her. He wasn't supposed to be meeting her in town. That was all Mori's. Mori was supposed to be doing all those things. And the fact that Lee got to just made Mori livid.

He was jealous and that did not sit well with him.

He had to calm down. He needed to lest he whined up with blood on his hands. He decided glaring at Lee was not the correct route in calming down. He changed his direction to Haruhi. She had her head quirked to the side slightly and those thin brows were still drawn together. Gazing at her made him calm down and made his features relax once again.

He reached out and took her hand, squeezing it gently and pulling her close enough so he could give her a diminutive kiss to her forehead.

"Nothing's wrong. We can go to the party if you want," he said into her sweet scented hair. He loved the way she smelled. He breathed her in as much as he could before she left him again.

When had kissed her she had started and with as much grace as possible disengaged from him. She messed with her hair and the hem of her shirt, not looking either man in the eye. Mori could tell she was embarrassed by the public display of affection. But he had to. He had to show Lee what he was dealing with.

Mori eyed Lee once again who raised his hands in a surrender type way behind Haruhi's back.

Good. This was good.

Maybe the party would be a fun experience after all, now that he didn't have to worry about how difficult it would be to pay off the police to look the other way when they found a dead waiter in the pool.


End file.
